"Rent A Butler"

Anyone got 7,000 drachmas to spare?

Season 1 Episode 18 (episode 18 overall) 

Original broadcast date: 10th January 1989

Writer: Brian Trueman
Additional voices: Receptionist: Ruby Wax

                              Mrs Grab: Brian Trueman

                              Mr Nouveau-Riche: David Jason                                  Mrs Nouveau-Riche/ 

                          Dr Von Goosewing: Jimmy Hibbert

                               

Joke Credit: Gadgets - Pat. Pending

Castle transport visual not used.

Duckula discovers that he can earn money by renting out his staff, but then he has no-one to look after him or his castle.

When this series steps aside from horror pastiches and turn-of-the-century style adventure it tends to do stuff like this. I don't know what to define this theme as other than the kind of mature plotlines that deal with staffing issues, class and greed. The sort that would be at home in a sitcom like Blackadder or Fawlty Towers as written by P.G. Wodehouse. Or vice versa. At any rate it's one of my favourite styles of plot and this one was funnier than I remembered it to be too, including the deliberately low-brow finale.  

Duckula calls a meeting with the staff, but seems to be expecting more than just Igor and Nanny to show up - Nanny through the ceiling. Prompts a funny little skewed logic exchange:

Duckula: Nanny for heaven's sake, why did you have to come through the CEILING?!

Nanny: 'Cos I was upstairs doing the bedrooms of course.
Duckula: I mean why couldn't you use the door?
Nanny: Don't be silly Duckyboos! Ceilings don't have doors.

Staff meeting with all of two staff attending rather worries Duckula and he decides to hire some more staff. He fails to take into acCOUNT (ho ho) that the reason that there's a dearth of servants is most likely due to a dearth of salary. I wish they'd done a pun on that with celery - the vegetarian Count would have enjoyed that! Then again, perhaps Igor and Nanny did away with any other staff, in Igor's case deliberately and in Nanny's accidentally. At any rate, it's off to the staffing agency via the coach bicycle where Duckula runs into a very inattentive receptionist and a very frightening woman who resembles Hilary Devey off of Dragon's Den.* I really love the satirical humour of this scene. The employees (domestic staff) seem to be held in much higher regard than the employers (gentry, yuppies etc.) Even a glimpse of the two vastly differing waiting rooms makes this obvious. The sardonic humour continues during Duckula's discussion with frankly terrifying Mrs Grab voiced by Brian Trueman in booming falsetto. By his own admission he has 'a limited range of female voices' but he's really good at portraying large, intimidating 'no-nonsense' women. As soon as it becomes clear that butlers and nannies are so in demand that they can net a fortune, the Count changes his tune and decides to pimp out Nanny and Igor instead! This in turn makes Mrs Grab change her tune and ply the Count with caviar and champagne. It's a great scene all round and I wonder how much of it reflected anything concrete or whether it was meant as just generic dry humour. I also enjoy the 'ha ha ha ha ha'/'and what does THAT mean?' jokes and how they are served and returned. 

 

*or John Cleese's Anne Elk character from a Monty Python sketch about dinosaurs.

Igor and Nanny now have to work for a stuck-up rich couple (only for about 10 or 20 years!) while Duckula gets a cut of the profits. This might actually go some way to explaining how the Count gets some money for other episodes where it's less of a problem. He generally doesn't have much in the way of cash, but perhaps he saved up just enough from this endeavour to finance things for a while or invest it. After all, this is technically one of his most successful plans, unless the agency took back all the money, but this is not stated. He's got to get some breaks! A similar stroke of good fortune also happens at the end of "Manhattan Duck" when he apparently gets to keep Mr Schussboomer's money. From the staff's perspective, although Nanny cannot bear to be parted from 'Duckyboos', Igor can. Whether this means he understands the money situation, or is slighted at Duckula auctioning him off isn't made clear.

Igor is of course, as ever, polite and sinister in equal measure to the lady of the house while, interestingly, Nanny seems a little terse with the husband. It's possible she's been so used to working for Duckula, no-one else will do, although Nanny's generally very much a one for good manners in everyone so I get the impression that the Nouveau-Riches are just not her type of people. If Igor feels the same way, he is much better at hiding it and he's certainly more formal here than he is with Duckula. See how this logically mirrors their farewell scene to their previous master. Surprisingly, Igor seems to really enjoy being in charge of all the modern gadgetry and takes to the remote controlled labour-savers pretty well! Maybe he's wondering how they could be adapted into torture devices.

This is where the Count realises what a bad housekeeper he is. Without his staff he is forced to (shock horror!) cook and clean for himself. It's a little hard to feel totally sympathetic for him here, he's a grown duck already, he should know how do do some of this! Then again, Nanny does tend to baby him somewhat. Because of his lack of cooking skills, he jumps at the chance of a decent meal when he gets a 'phone call inviting him to a dinner party. In true sitcom style said invite is from Igor and Nanny's new employers! Duckula decides that the only logical course of action is to disguise in drag so no-one recognises him and attend the party as his fictional Southern belle cousin, Lobelia. Brilliant! Absolutely nothing could go wrong with an idea as sound as that. Apart from the fact that Dr Von Goosewing is among the party guests and immediately takes a shine to her, I mean him. So it's either getting kissed by the mad doctor or revealing himself an getting killed by the mad doctor? Hmm, which is worse? Despite the apparent poor regard Mrs Grab showed for EMPLOYERS earlier, eagle-eyed viewers will notice that she (and the receptionist) attend the Nouveau-Riches' party anyway! Good for business I guess. Plus I'll STAKE money that the Nouveau-Riches invited Doctor Von Goosewing just because he has a title. Same with Count Duckula's invite for that matter.

By this stage Nanny has enraged Mr Nouveau-Riche (David Jason doing an haughty h'upper-class voice) with her destructive antics so much that he orders her to stay away from the party and watch television instead. It's a tough life dearie! But it doesn't help when Nanny apparently can't distinguish between a TV set and a washing machine. She must have learned eventually, as she's seen using a washing machine in future episodes, albeit incorrectly. There's also a subplot about the up-to-date gadgets (which three decades later we still haven't got in our homes!) remote control looking a lot like the TV remote. This will come to a head pretty soon. 

Mr Nouveau-Riche: Not another wAHrd! Good. Night.

Nanny: Wants to watch his blood pressure does that one.

The party seems to be going well, now that Nanny has been forbidden from getting involved in it. I can't see her employment with the Nouveau-Riches lasting much longer. Igor, to his credit, does his job better. However, he makes the mistake of getting the TV remote mixed up with the gadget master control. This means that every time Nanny changes channels (even though she's still 'watching' the washing machine) something goes wrong with the mechanised dining room. I do feel sorry for Igor here. Even though his dinner menu might have been a little suspect, everything was going well for him up until this point. The table and chairs crash up and down dazing all the guests while the automatic server throws food and drink everywhere. Then the vacuum cleaner goes nuts, sucking up Mrs Nouveau-Riche and then Von Goosewing, which is just as well for Duckula, who has had his disguise ruined by the yo-yo of a dining table. Funniest bit for me is when Mr Nouveau-Riche tries to strangle Igor, who's more concerned about having his suit ruined by cream pies.

Dinner's off and so are the main three as they get chucked out onto the garden with Duckula suddenly in his regular outfit again. Guess he was wearing it underneath! A pie in he face ends the whole farce with the dignity it deserves and we close for another week.

A funny farcical furore and a nice bit of staff/employer tension and social commentary in this one. Trueman seems to have been the one to tackle these themes as a general rule and it's possible that this came as a natural extension from his research done for Wind in the Willows. Although in that series, oddly, we never see ANY of Mr Toad's staff! Although Count Duckula is set in the current day, the relationship between main three (and to be far several other characters) seem like a deliberate throwback to the old school system. The fact that this comes to blows with 'normal people' in the present day (for 1989) is highlighted here in this episode as one of the themes. Also, despite Duckula being painted as money-hungry and pretty bad at looking after himself, it also shows how he's pretty much the only one who'll put up with Igor and Nanny's...unique working methods! On a tangent, sly little jokes like Igor's allusions to paving slabs and haystacks would almost certainly have gone over the children's heads. Good wordplay. One could argue that the yuppie element has dated this episode somewhat but I don't think so. People like the Nouveau-Riches will always be around, they'll just have different-looking houses. I recall reading an article in an animation magazine where one of the artists mentions the plot of this episode, so perhaps it was one of the earliest to be put into production. It would certainly explain the Count's diminishing staff, which is referenced moreso in earlier episodes until he just sort of accepts that Igor and Nanny are the only ones who'll hang around. However funny, the reference to prisoners in the dungeon is a little jarring. Certainly not for Igor but it's implied that the Count himself is OK with this, something which seems like 'early instalment weirdness' to me. However his squicked-out reaction to Igor suggesting that the prisoners are in bits is definitely in-character. He also seems to be aware of the werewolf being a thing, before it was wisely decided to have it's existence kept a secret from him. 

Music

"Mock Turtles" (Wally Stott) - Title.
"Menace from the Deep" (Robert Leslie Cornford - track 10) - Opening/closing.

"Finders Creepers" (Paddy Kingsland) - Staff meeting.

"Girl of my Dreams" (James Clarke - track 1) - Employment agency.

For the love of monk, please no more comments about the music. They take up about 90% of the inbox.

Pans and Backgrounds

Some very stylised 'retro modern' stuff (for want of a better description) to contrast with the gloomy old castle. Most scenes take place away from the castle, giving a glimpse of what life must be like for the more well-off 'normal' people in this series. Lots of massive potted plants and wavy walls! Not many clear shots though and no pans, other than the expected intro and outro. The episode title also makes its way into a background. Animation by the Spanish department.

Same layout, different painting to show the Nouveau-Riche residence at different hours.

Trivia

• Episode opens on Duckula's pen dripping, ends on cake dripping and reference to red-stained clothes.  
• Duckula is right-handed in this episode it would appear.
• Another use of the Transylvanian Times.
• Rare episode that has Brian Trueman voicing a female character other than Nanny, although he can be heard as a male party guest in the crowd as well.
• Mrs Grab lives up to her name as she grabs and lifts Duckula up off the sofa.
• Duckula does a similar mocking laugh joke with Nasty Colin in "Dead Eye Duck" that he does with Mrs Grab here.
• The rate for butlers is 7,000 drachmas a week and for nannies it's 6,500. 
• The Sky One broadcast of this episode has an odd bit when we fade out from the office and back to the front door of the castle. We hear what sounds like Dmitri about to say something a couple of times and then stopping, something like "heau- ha-" Was there a clock bats joke cut from this episode? I did not imagine this, honest! 
• The only interior of the castle we see in this episode is the kitchen.
• First in order use of the "may I call you?" gag, although technically, its use in "Unreal Estate" would be the first real use. Teletubbies fans will get a bonus chuckle from the fact that Duckula calls Mrs Nouveu-Riche "Noo-noo" given that there is also a vacuum cleaner in this episode. Noo-noo is the name of the vacuum cleaner character from Teletubbies.
• Nouveau-Riche literally translates to 'new rich' which is the opposite of Duckula who (in theory) would acquire wealth by inheritance. As this episode shows, it's not always as simple as that. The term Nouveau-Riche is used in a derogatory way to describe those with more money than taste.
• The Nouveau-Riches are referenced in "Mobile Home" which is a nice little continuity gag for anyone who got this episode on VHS (see below)
• Nanny erroneously refers to her new employer as Mr Edelweiss. Von Goosewing assumes this name in "The Great Ducktective." This ties in with Duckula's assumed name here as Lobelia is also the name of a flowering plant.
• Whether it's a colour error or a deliberate choice, Mr Nouveau-Riche appears to not be wearing any trousers! So far only Duckula himself has gotten away with that! Maybe it's a class thing. His boots tops are clearly visible too. He is also one of two characters played by Davis Jason to wear watch chains, the other being Dr Potson.
• Nanny makes mention of Jacques Cousteau - an explorer famed for his sea-life documentaries - while watching all the 'underwater stuff.' 
• Duckula has a telephone in or near the kitchen in this episode. Ordinarily, he uses the 'phone box in the village. Perhaps he got cut off after not paying his bills!
• The party takes place on the 15th.
• Igor's menu: Beetroot soup, red mullet a la sassin(?), steak tartare with red cabbage, red Cheshire cheese and redcurrant mousse with blood orange. Strongly implied to be blood in, or as the sauce! Igor mentions blood orange again in "Manhattan Duck."
• Igor may like red, but he's not keen on green. Reminds him of vegetables I suppose. He'd probably be OK with slime and mould though I'd imagine.

• 

  From the first annual.

  First of two times in the series the Count disguises in drag. The other being "Prime Time Duck" although it isn't really a disguise there since everyone knows who he is. Even though he has no reflection, he uses a hand mirror to apply make-up. There is another, shattered, mirror in the scene too. Igor does not seem to recognise Duckula when he is in disguise.
• Alcohol and smoking are shown in this episode.
• The Nouveau-Riche's plug sockets are two-pin.
• Goosewing enjoyed the beetroot soup, but Duckula knew better than to have any, given 'the way Igor makes it.' This, ironically, means that Goosewing has consumed more blood in the series than Duckula has, albeit unknowingly.
• Mr Nouveau-Riche has no-one but himself to blame for the gadgets going crazy. He was the one who gave Nanny the wrong controller in the first place.
• No references to Heinrich nor any Germanic cursing from Von Goosewing this time. He does however refer to 'Lobelia' (Duckula's assumed name) as 'mien klein orange blossom' and takes his stake gun to the party! In a nice shoulder holster to boot if you don't blink and miss it.
• There's a certain catharsis to Goosewing getting inhaled by the vacuum cleaner since he did just that to several people (and buildings!) with his own invention in "All In A Fog." Also, in both episodes Jimmy Hibbert plays a blonde woman who gets sucked up. I wouldn't advise you internet search those last six words.
• Mr Nouveau-Riche threatens to strangle Nanny, but ends up doing so to Igor. Nanny accidentally strangles Igor near the beginning.
• When Duckula ends up with cream pie on his face, the dripping cream ironically resembles fangs.
• The gag credit is a reference to patent pending; a term used to indicate an invention is expected to be copyrighted soon. Also a character from 'Wacky Races.'
• This episode was released on Thames 'Lollipop' label in 1989 along with "Autoduck" and "Mobile Home." This is the only episode on that tape that does not feature the Crow Brothers.

Goofs and Nitpicks

• Brief cropping error as Duckula picks up the newspaper. Not visible on a TV set which leads me to believe the YouTube channel is zooming these things out too far.
•  Mrs Nouveau-Riche says she's going to change, but she is seen in the same outfit throughout the episode. Guess she changed her mind too!
• The front door can be briefly seen before the three get kicked out. It's in a very wide shot though, so it could just as easily be an opening.
  
  
  

  

  I'll leave you with this brilliant little bit.